weather-tile 
weather-tile (weTH'cr-til), «. A tilo used as a 
substitute for a weather-board in frame-build- 
ings. These tiles are overlapped like shingles, ami are 
held ill place by nails driven through holes formed in tlie 
tiles in molding. 
weather-vane (weTH'er-van), «. A vane to 
show the direction of the wind ; a weather- 
cook. See cut under rniie. 
weather-waft (weTu'er-wiift), a. Tossed or 
carried by the wind. [Kare.] 
I cannot Imt feare that those men never Moored their 
Anchors well in the flrme soile of Heaven that are weather- 
waft up aild down witli every eddy-wind of every new 
doctrine. A'. Ward, Simple Colder, p. 20. 
weather-wind (weTu'er-wind), ». [A corrup- 
tion of irithi/wiiKl for n-ithirind.'i Bindweed. 
HnHitrell. [Provincial.] 
weather-wise (weTU'er-wIz), a. [< ME. tocdcr- 
wis; < weather + w/scl.] Skilful in prognosti- 
cating the changes of the weather. 
For thorw werre and wykkcd wcrkes and wcderes vnre- 
sonable, 
Wedericise sinpmen and witti clerkes also 
Han no bilieue to the lifte ne to the lore of phllosofres. 
Picas' Ploimnan (B), xv. 350. 
weather-wisert (weTH'er-wi"zer), n. [< wert- 
tlier + *wiKcr, iiKlieator; of. toai/ioiscr.'] Some- 
thing that foretells the changes of the weather. 
The flowers of pimpernel, the opening and shutting of 
which are tlie countryman's weather-toiser, 
Derham, Physico-Theol., x., note. 
weather-work (weTu'er-werk), n. Defense or 
]>rovision against the wind, sea, etc. Coi)k, 
Voyages, III. i. '■i. (/Ciici/c. Diet.) 
weather-worn (weTH'er-vv6rn), a. [< weather 
+ «or«.] Worn, injured, or defaced by the 
action of the weather; wi^athered. 
weather-wreck (weTn'er-rek), «. A wreck by 
storms. [Rare.] 
Well, well, you have built a nest 
That will stand all storms; you need not nnstrust 
A weather-wreck. 
Beau, ami Fl., Wit at Several Weapons, ii. 2. 
weavei (wev), r. ; pret. wore (formerly also 
weavcd), pp. worcu (sometimes irorc and former- 
ly also wearcd), ppr. wcurin;/. [< ME. vwvcii 
(pret. waf, wiif, pi. wvreii, woven, jip. woi;cu),<Aii. 
wefan (pret. w;ef, pp. wcfeii) = MD. D. weven = 
OHG. weban, MHG. G. wehcn = Icel. vefa = Sw. 
rdj'va = Dan. Vcere, weave (connection with 
Goth. bi-wail)jaii, wrap around, is doubtful), = 
Gr. •/ I'V (orig. ■\/ Fa<j>), in v^ii, i4o(, a web, v(j>ai- 
vtiv, weave; cf. Skt. nrna-vdhhi, a spider, lit. 
'wool-weaver,' Skt. ■[/ va. weave, also Lith.ico- 
rds, a spinner, spider. From the root of wearc"^ 
are ult. E. wch, weft^, woof, oof, <il)l>, etc.] I. 
trans. 1. To form by interlacing flexible parts, 
such as threads, yarns, filaments, or strips of dif- 
ferent materials. See wearing. 
Where the women wove hangings for the grove. 
2 Ki. xxiil. 7. 
And now his woeen girths he breaks asunder. 
Shak., Venus and Adonis, 1. 200. 
To wanton Dalliance negligently laid. 
We weave the Chaplet, and we crown the Bowl. 
Prior, .Solomon, ii. 
These purple vests were weaved by Dardan dames. 
Dryden. 
2. To form a te.xtui'e from; interlace or en- 
twine into a fabric. 
When she weaved the sleided silk. 
Sliak., Pericles, iv., I'l-ol., 1. 21. 
3. To entwine; unite by intermixture or close 
connection ; insert by or as by weaving. 
.She Wff/it wel, and wroot the story above. 
Chaueer, (iood Women, 1. 2304. 
This iveam'i itself perforce into my business. 
Sliak., Lear, ii. 1. 17. 
The government of Episf'opacy is now so weav'd into the 
common Law : In Gods name let weave out againe. 
Milton, Kcformation in Eng., ii. 
These words, thus ivnven into song. 
lli/ron, Childe Harold, iii. 112. 
He carries off only such scraps in his memory ns it is 
hardly possible to %veave into a connected and consistent 
whole. Prexcott. (Imp. Diet.) 
4. To inclose by weaving something about. 
The mind can weave itself warmly in the cocoon of its 
own thoughts and dwell a hermit anywhere. 
Lowdl, Study Windows, j>. .''16. 
5. To contrive, fabricate, or construct with de- 
sign or elaborate care: as, to weave a plot. 
For answer . . . Acesius iveavelh out a long history of 
things that happened in the persecution under Decins, and 
of men which to save life forsook faith. 
Hooker, Kcdes. Polity, vi. (i. 
My brain, more busy tlian the labouring spider, 
Weare>; tedious snares to trap mine enendes. 
filiak., 2 Hen. VI., iii. 1. 340. 
Wove paper. See pajier. 
II. intran.t. 1. To practise weaving; work 
with a loom. 
6864 
Proclaim that I can sing, weave, sew, and dance. 
Shak., Pericles, iv. «. 194. 
They that pretend to wonders must weav cunningly. 
Fletcher, Spanish Curate, ii. 1. 
2. To become woven or interwoven. [Kare. J 
The amorous vine which in the elm still weaves. 
W. Browne. 
3. In the manege, to make a motion of the head, 
neck, and body from side to side like the shuttle 
of a weaver : "said of a horse. Imj). Diet. 
weave^ (wev), «. [< «caiel, V.'] The act or a 
style of weaving. [Trade use.] 
A Practical Treatise on the Construction and Application 
of weaves for all Textile Fabrics. Nature, XXX VIIL 600. 
The great difference between a twill and a plain, or be- 
tween a plain and a satin weave. Fibre and Fabric, V. 15. 
weave'^t, v. [Also were; < ME^ weven (pret. 
wevede, wefde, pp. ireved)X AS. *rviefan (in comp. 
he-wssfan, wrap around, clothe, = OHG. ze- 
weiban = Goth, bi-waibjan, wrap around, cover, 
mixed with the appar. cognate Icel. veifa), 
shake, vibrate, wave : seeM;«i'el.] 1. trans. 1. 
To shake; cause to waver; wave; brandish; 
toss; waft. 
Auntrose [dangerous] is thin euel, 
Ful wonderliche it the iveues, wel I wot the sothe. 
William 0/ Palerne (E. E. T. S.), 1. 922. 
Shaking a pike of fire in defiance of the enemie, and wean- 
ing tliem amaiiic, we bad tliem cf»me aboord. 
Hakluyt'K Voyages, III. 506. 
2. To move ; cause to move. 
'J'hat comli ladi cayres to hire chauinber, 
it weued vp a window. 
Waiiam of Palerne (E. E. T. S.), I. 2978. 
II, intrans. 1. To wave; waver; float about. 
To cold coles sche schal be brent 3it or come cue ; 
ife the aschis of hire body with the wind wciw. 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.X 1. 436S. 
2. To move ; go. 
Thou wylnez oucr thys water to we\u. 
Alliterative Poems {qA. Morris), i. 319. 
He saugh the stroke come and wevyd a-side. 
Merlin (E. E. T. S.), liL 389. 
weavelt, »• See weevil. 
weaver (we'ver), n. [< ME. wcvere, wevar,< AS 
'wefere = MD. D. werer = OHG. iceberi, MHG. 
webare, G. weher = Sw. v&fvare = Dan. never, a 
weaver; as weasel -f -er^. Cf. tveliber.'] 1. One 
who weaves ; one whose occupation is weaving. 
Wewars also of wolne and lynnyn. 
Quoted in Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), Pref. , p. xlvii. 
Weavers were supposed to be generally gixtd singers. 
Their trade being sedentary, they had an opportunity of 
practising, and sometimes in parts, while they were at 
work. Warburton adds tliat many of the weavers in Qtieen 
Elizabeth's days were Flcnnsh Cilvinists, who fled from 
the persecution of the Duko of Alva, ami were therefore 
particularly given to singing psalms. . . . Hence the ex- 
clamation of Falstatf, " I wfuild I were a iceaver ! I could 
sing psalms, and all manner of songs." Nares. 
2. In ocHif/i., a weaver-bird. — 3. Inentmn.: (a) 
A gyriiiid beetle; awhirligig: so called from its 
intricate cirelings and gyrations on tlie surface 
of the water. See whirligig, 4, and cut under 
Gyriuidie. (b) A spinning-spider ; a true ara- 
neid which weaves a web. Varions groups of such 
spiders are distinguished l>y the form of their webs, as line- 
weavers, orh-weavers, tapestry-weavers, tube-weavers, tun- 
nel-weavers, die. iiee spider. 
4. In ielith., same as weever Mahall weaver. 
.■See trc« re r-im;.~ Sociable Weaver. See %veaver-bird.— 
Tapestry weaver. See (ojw«(ri/.— Weavers' bottom, 
a cbroinc inflatumation of a bursa situated oAcr the tuber- 
osity of the iscluum, occurring as a result of sitting long 
and constantly oti a h.-ird scat.— Yellow-crowned wea- 
ver. See %veaver-bird. 
weaver-bird (we'ver-berd), «. One of numer- 
ous Old World (chiefly African and Indian) 
conirostral passerine birds, noted for the dex- 
terity and ingenuity with which they weave 
the materials of their nests into a textile fab- 
ric, and also for the extraordinary size and un- 
usual shape of some of these structures. The 
name weaver-bird, in its present broad sense, is modern, 
ami appears to have originally specified a single species 
(see below). In the last and early in the present century 
the t)irds of this group which were then known were classed 
with the finches and grosbeaks, sometimes with the ori- 
oles, mainly according to the thickness of the bill, and 
some of them received still more misleading names. 
Though there was an Oriolus textor in 1788, the geiuis 
Ploceus was not named till 1817. and the family Ploceidee 
not till 1847. With the recognition of this large and va- 
ried group, as well marked trom the FHngillidx by the 
possessictn of 10 instead of 9 primaries, an English name 
Ijecamc a desideratum ; ami xceavers, weaver-birds, or icea- 
ver -Jinches became synonymous with Ploceidx, without im- 
plymg that all the birds so named build very elaborate 
nests, {^t^ Ploceus, Ploceidfe.) Two remarkable types of 
nest may be noted. One is the hive-nest of the republi- 
can or sociable weavers, many pairs of which build in com- 
mon an enormous domed structure. (See PItiletjerus, and 
cut mider hive-ii^st.) 'llie other, the usual type of nest, is 
jtensile or jiemiulotls, and very closely woven, like that of 
tile American hang-nests, butnu:)re elaborate, antl with a 
hole in one side instead of being open at the top, in this 
respect resembling the nests of vai ions titnuce (bush-tits 
weaveress 
and bottle-tits) and some wrens. These nests arc gener- 
ally slung at the ends of long, slender, drooping branches, 
often over the water of a pool or stream, where they are 
safest from monkeys and snakes. In some cases the males 
build additional nests for themselves, in which no eggs 
are to be laid — a habit, however, not confined to weaver- 
birds (see cock-nest). One of the largest, most charac- 
teristic, and best-known genera of weaver-Ijirds is that 
African form called Oryx (a preoccupied name) by lesson 
in 1831, and Pyromelana\<y Bonaparte in that year, though 
oftener called Euplectes (Swainson, 1837). There are 12 
or 15 species, the characteristic coloration of which is 
black set off with scarlet or orange in large massed areas. 
P. oryx, tlie male of which is scarlet and black, is alxiut 
5 inches long ; it was originally descrilied by Edwards 
in 1751 as "the grenadier," from some fancied like- 
ness of its plumage to a soldier's uniform. It inhabits 
South Africa. P. aurea of western Africa is the golden- 
backed finch and gold-liacked grosbeak of the early or- 
nithologists, being one of the yellow and black species. 
P. capensis, the Cape groslieak of Latham, is another, 
from (^ape Colony. P. tafia, sometimes known as the 
Mahali weaver, and generally called Ploceus or Euplectes 
taha, is very small (scarcely 4i inches long), of rich golden- 
yellow and velvety-black hues, and its nest is dispropor- 
tionately large. It belongs to an extensive region of south- 
eastern Africa. (See cut under (aAa.) Several other Afri- 
can weavers represent the genus Ploceipasser, as /', ma- 
hali. There is a large series of small birds, all technically 
weavei-s (Pioceida?), which fall in the spermestine division 
of the family, and belong to numerous genera of the Ethio- 
pian, Oriental, and even the Australian region, as various 
amadavats, waxbills, strawberry-finches, blood-finches, 
senegals, etc. (See Viduiiue (a), and cuts under Ploceus, 
Senegal, Tteniopygia, and waxlnll.) The birds of an ex- 
tensive Oriental and Australian genus Munia (with its 
subdivisions, as Padda) belong here. (See cut under 
sparrow.) Fifteen species of Croloncha, characterized by 
cxserted middle tail-feathers, range from Africa to New 
Guinea; one of them is U. acutieauda. The genus £ry- 
Ihrura is another large one, reaching from India through 
much of Polynesia. None of the foregoing birds falls in 
the subfamily Ploceinx as now restricted. Among the 
latter may lie noted the species of the African genus Sita- 
gra, 6 in number, of which the best-known is S. capensis 
of Cape Colony, the olive oriole of Latham, commonly 
Weaver -bird (Sitagra capensis). 
called yellow-croimcd iccaver and Ploceus icierocephalua. 
This is 7 inches long, of an olive and golden-yellow and 
black color ; it builds a large bottle-shaped or kidney- 
formed pensile nest. Foudia is a .Madagascar type. The 
most extensive genus of all is the African HyphatUornig, 
with over 30 species, or the golden weavers, as H. gal- 
biita. These birds represent in Africa, or may be com- 
pared with, the hang-nest orioles of America. One of the 
longest- and best-known is H. cucullatus of western Af- 
Weaver-bird iHyfhaHtornis fexttr). 
ricn, from Senegambia to the Gaboon ; it has oftener been 
called //. textor (after Oriolus textor of Gmelin, 1788), and 
enjoys the distinction of being one of the first, if not the 
first, to which the name weaver attached, being the wee- 
ver oriole of Latham (1782) ; it is 6 inches long, yellow and 
black. Malimbus is an African genus of black and crim- 
son, scarlet, vermilion, or yellow coloration, as M. crisla- 
tus. The African genns Textor (one of the early names — 
Temminck, 1828) has 2 marked sjiecies, T. albirostris (or 
alecto), the white billed, and T. erythrorhynchus (or ni- 
ger), the red-billed. (See cut under Textor.) Finally, the 
genus Ploceus itself as now restricted is an Oriental type 
of a few species, commonly called baya-birds, though it 
used to be indiscriminately ajiplieil to any of the fore- 
going, and became the name-giving genus of the whole 
group. See cut under Ploceus. (For those Ploceidx 
known i\a whidahbirds, see Vidviiur.) 
weaveresst (we'ver-es), n. [< weaver + -^ss.'] 
A female weaver. 
He found two looms alone remaining at work, in the 
hands of an ancient weaver and iceaveress. 
J. H. Blunt, Hist, of Dureley, p. 222, (Dariet.) 
